Muncy School District Expects New Building Changes For Next Shcool Year
MUNCY – The school board agreed to some capital projects to improve the buildings and grounds for the upcoming school year. The auditorium will be getting a new ceiling and new carpet. The old seats will be removed and washed and sanitized over the summer months announced school superintendent, Dr. Portia Brandt. “I am excited about the new carpet. It will be coming in squares so that we can change it in sections if it gets too badly stained or worn in certain areas, and not in others. We can just flip it out,” said Dr. Brandt.
The auditorium will also be getting an updated speaker system and new stage lighting. Total costs for refurbishing and painting the auditorium is estimated at $73,300. The work will be done by local contractors assured the Superintendent.
Another item in dire need of change are the lockers said Dr. Brandt. “The original lockers are only 7 inches wide when the school was first built. It is hard for the kids to put their backpacks in them to fit so we will be replacing them with 600 new lockers,” she said. They will be ten inches wide and some will be 18 inches to meet the ADA guidelines. $85,000 will go towards the cost of replacements.
All classrooms will get whiteboards at an expense of $9,000 and the old slate blackboards will be recycled by going to auction, not a landfill.
$20,000 has been designated for security cameras for the “dead” spots. The new security system will be centered at the High School building and monitored by the clerical staff. “They will be able to see around the corners and down hallways now from all locations,” said Dr. Brandt.
The lower gym area will be getting new, more durable lighting for $8,000.
As for buildings and grounds, the district already purchased the adjoining property on the corner of Pepper Street and Buffington Street and anticipate using it for practice fields. “There is a vacant home there now, but it will be demolished sometime this summer,” added the Superintendent. The house next to it will be purchased for $73,000 and will be developed along with the other property for the athletic department at a cost of $48,000. “This will save us a lot of money,” said Dr. Brandt, “because now we are busing kids to the Dome for practices. This makes good sense to use our own adjacent properties. We will not be adding new buildings to the fields just yet. This is not the time to raise taxes.”
These projects are all part of the new fiscal budget that will begin in July 2010.